'Absolutely necessary': SC refuses to relax ban on firecrackers

Not everybody can afford an air purifier at their residence or place of work to fight pollution, the bench noted.

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to relax the ban imposed on the manufacture, storage, and sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR, noting that air pollution levels had remained alarming for a considerable time.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said a large section of the population worked on the streets and was the worst affected by pollution. Not everybody can afford an air purifier at their residence or place of work to fight pollution, the bench noted.

"Several orders passed by this court during the last six months bring on record the horrible situation that prevailed in Delhi due to very high levels of air pollution… Right to health is an essential part of Article 21 of the Constitution, so is the right to live in a pollution-free atmosphere," the court stated.

The bench further said that unless the court was satisfied that the pollution due to the "so-called" green crackers was bare minimum, there was no question of reconsidering the previous orders.

The top court emphasized that its past orders indicated that the directions and ban on the use of firecrackers were warranted by an "extraordinary situation" created in Delhi due to severe air pollution.